Ippo, during his second spar with Miyata Ichirou, threw an uppercut directly upward instead of with a curve; due to Miyata's reflexes, the punch only hit the tip of his chin and ended up doing more damage than if the blow wasn't dodged. This "uppercut" was revived by Ippo against Sendou Takeshi in the All-Japan Rookie Finals as a different type of smash. The way he threw it looked like he was throwing both a hook and an uppercut simultaneously. Ippo used it to counter Sendou's own smash successfully.